The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 43

The further Lin Xiao goes from the center of the market, the less shop he saw. Just as he was about to reach the end of the street, he saw a rundown shop with its door open wide. The weapon inside seems to be either an antique or simply a display weapon but something displayed on the wall caught his eyes. It was a dagger and for some reason, Lin Xiao felt an attraction to the dagger. It was as if the dagger once belonged to him.

‘Why though? This is clearly my first time in the capital unless… I once lived here?’ Lin Xiao can’t help but walk into the shop and straight to the dagger. He was just about to reach out to it when he heard a voice coming from his side.

“Are you interested in this dagger, young man?”

When Lin Xiao turned his head, he saw an old man. There was no one else in the shop, so Lin Xiao assumed that the old man is the owner of this shop.

“That dagger was sold to me by the Li family. After that incident two years ago, they have fallen from prominence to the point that they have to sell their valuables away,” the old man speaks, his voice contains a hint of contempt. “Serves them right!” he grumbled under his breath, but Lin Xiao could still hear it.

“So, this dagger once belongs to the Li family? Then what is this incident about?” Lin Xiao didn’t know why he asked, but before he even realized it, the question already escaped his lips.

“They say that the son of Yinjing Hou had assassinated the previous Emperor. An ungrateful bastard if you ask me! The previous Emperor took him in when he’s young and he was raised in the palace along with the current Emperor and yet, he decided to bite the hand that feeds him!” the owner speaks in an angry tone.

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“I see…” from the owner’s word, Lin Xiao could figure out more or less on why the Li family was hated. “But if the son from Li family assassinated the previous Emperor, why are they still around to even sell their valuables?”

‘To harm the royal family is already punishable by death up to the ninth generation… let alone the Emperor, ah! How are they still around?’ Lin Xiao was curious to find out. He didn’t even know why he was interested in this family or why he felt relieved that they are still around.

“Because the current Emperor owed them a life-saving grace. That son of Yinjing Hou had saved His Majesty when he was young…” the owner continued to grumble. Lin Xiao could sense how the owner was actually dissatisfied with the outcome. “Anyway, are you buying or not?! Seeing this dagger every day is making me angry. If you’re buying it, then hurry up!”

“How much are you selling it?” Lin Xiao asked the owner.

“Heh, this dagger once belonged to someone from the prominent family. The materials are all top grade and the craftsmanship is also excellent. For you, I’ll give you a special price. Say… ten gold pieces,” the owner said to Lin Xiao.

“Ten? You’re robbing me! You said it yourself, they are ‘once’ a prominent family,” Lin Xiao emphasized on the word ‘once’ clearly. “Now, they have nothing. Not even their reputation. Five, and I’ll take it,” Lin Xiao gave out his price. Luckily, other than the earnings he got from Ping Jianyu, he has other savings on him. Pocket money which Long YinLian gave him every time he went down to Senlin village.

“Young man, even if they have fallen, they are still a family who once were related to the Emperor! Eight, and that’s final!” the old man huffed.

“Four,” Lin Xiao cut the price by half again. He did not believe that the owner will not sell it to him. With the dagger’s history, he doubted anyone would be interested after knowing the story behind it. Just as Lin Xiao suspected, the owner slightly wavered.

“Six…”

“Three,” Lin Xiao once again, counter-offered.

“Now you’re the one robbing me, young man!”

“Fine, two gold pieces. Take it or I’ll just leave,” Lin Xiao said, and the owner seems to have reached his limit.

“Then leave! See if I care!” the owner yelled at Lin Xiao who only snickered. Lin Xiao turned around and was just about to walk away when the owner called out to him. “Wait!! Fine! Two gold pieces and it’s yours!” the owner finally relented. “Two pieces is better than nothing! Ever since this dagger came into my shop, no customers ever come and visit,” the owner grumbled unhappily.

“A wise decision, good sir. Here are your two gold pieces,” Lin Xiao said with a smile and he was just about to hand it over to the owner when another voice came from behind him.

“I’ll take the dagger for ten gold pieces.”

Hearing this, Lin Xiao and the owner froze. He turned to see a cloaked man standing behind him, slightly towering him by one head. “I’m sorry. But I’ve already pa-”

“The dagger is yours, young man! Take it!” the owner quickly cut off Lin Xiao before he finished his sentence. The old man grabbed the dagger in display and handed it to the cloaked man before he received his ten pieces of gold as payment. “Thank you, thank you!” he said bowing at the generous customer, though Lin Xiao thinks that he’s simply senile and greedy.

Clearly he was the first one to show interest in buying the dagger and he even agreed selling the dagger to him at a price. But the owner changed his mind as quickly as the winds blow.

“And you! Scram!!” the owner hissed out at Lin Xiao when he saw that Lin Xiao was still in his shop.

The cloaked man left, and Lin Xiao quickly rushed over to catch up. He was not satisfied. That dagger was supposed to be his. “Wait!!” Lin Xiao called out loudly to the cloaked man.

The man stopped and turned around. He watched as Lin Xiao approached him and saw how Lin Xiao is glaring at him. “Is there anything that you need?” the cloaked man asked, his voice containing a hint of impatience.

“That dagger is mine. I was just about to pay for it!” Lin Xiao told the male.

“But the owner took my money and gave it to me. So now it belongs to me,” the cloaked man replied, and Lin Xiao just felt even more irritated.

“Fine! I’ll give you ten gold… just-”

“No. No matter how much you offer me; I will never give this away.”

“Why?”

“Because Hi-… I mean, my master wanted this dagger. Ever since we found out that the Li family had sold it away, my master has been furious,” the man replied.

“Then I will just…” Lin Xiao ducked down and grabbed the dagger. It had taken the cloaked man by surprise and the weapon simply slipped out of his grasp when Lin Xiao wrestled it away from him. “Here is your gold! Find some other weapons!” Lin Xiao said as he ran, but not before throwing two gold pieces to the man.

The cloaked man, of course, tried to chase after Lin Xiao but Lin Xiao was simply too quick at his feet. He tried to catch up but failed. At the same time, Lin Xiao was also having trouble to throw the cloaked man off his back. ‘So persistent!’ he thought as he continued to run through the street, heading to the center of the market. The closer they get, the denser the people on the street.

Unfortunately, while running through the crowd, Lin Xiao didn’t notice a similarly dressed group in front of him. He accidentally bumped into one of the cloaked figures and when he turned to mutter a word of apology, their eyes met briefly.

The other was covered from head to toe, even his face cannot be seen clearly. But Lin Xiao could still see how the other’s eyes are staring at him with disbelief. “Ming-er…?” Lin Xiao heard him voice out and he felt his heart, which was erratic from his running, skipped a beat.

“Who—”

“Someone, help me catch that thief!!” Lin Xiao heard the familiar voice of his pursuer from behind and can’t help but clicked his tongue.

“Look, I’m sorry for bumping into you! I have to go now! If we meet again, I’ll treat you for a snack as an apology!” Lin Xiao said before he ran once more. The other cloaked figures that accompanied the one who speaks earlier was just about to chase after Lin Xiao but was stopped.

“Let him go,” the man who speaks earlier says and they immediately stopped in their track. The man continued to stare at the leaving figure until it disappeared into the crowd. Only then did he let out a heavy sigh. ‘He really looked like Ming-er. But if he is, he would’ve already recognized me just by my voice alone…’

Then, they turned to face another figure who dressed similarly like them, running over. “Meng Chen, did you get the dagger?” the man asked.

When the man who chased after Lin Xiao heard this question, he shivered. He was about to kneel down when someone grabbed him by the arm and stopped him from kneeling.

“Are you crazy? What do you want to do? Inform everyone of our identity?!”

The man, Meng Chen, turned to look at the person who stopped him. “General Bai… I…”

“Never mind, hurry and answer first.”

“Ah, yes sir!” Meng Chen said before he turned back to the other man. He cupped his fist in a salute and bowed his head slightly. “Answering to His Majesty, this servant had the dagger but… some rascals stole it from this servant,” he said. “Asking for His Majesty’s benevolence and forgive this servant for his incompetence. This servant promises to find the thief and retrieve the dagger.”

The other man, who turned out to be the Emperor of Qin, stays silent. The dagger was the only thing that reminds him of his most important person. ‘I shouldn’t have given it to the Li family…’ Qin YiJun really regretted it.

Meng Chen suddenly felt nervous when Qin YiJun didn’t speak. He knew how important the dagger was to his Emperor and he was happy that he was tasked to get it. Unfortunately, he blew up his chance of trying to get the Emperor’s favor.

“Your Majesty?” the other cloaked figure called out to Qin YiJun.

“Zhen heard it clearly,” Qin YiJun answered. “Meng Chen, can you recognize this thief if you were to see them again?” the Emperor asked.

“Yes…” Meng Chen answered timidly.

“Very well. Let’s try finding this thief before we return to the palace. If we can’t find him, get someone to sketch his appearance and spread it around the Empire… I want him found no matter what,” Qin YiJun said in a cold voice. One could sense the anger he felt based on his tone. He never would’ve thought that the so-called thief was the same person who bumped into him.

“As for you, your punishment will be to clean the stable at night for two weeks. Alone,” he told Meng Chen who only cowered in fear.

If Meng Chen had arrived earlier, he would’ve seen how the thief he chased had bumped onto the Emperor. Then, it would’ve saved him the explanation.

“What about that other item?” Qin YiJun asked after a while.

“Meng Chen still hasn’t found the shop, Your Majesty…” Meng Chen replied timidly. He already had his punishment, he’s afraid that it would get worse since he had failed yet another task.

“… General Bai, you go and find the shop. Make sure to retrieve the item. The rest of you, follow Zhen and find the thief that stole the dagger.”